Childhood Friend
by demitotal disaster
Summary: Sometimes, clichés could involve the less expected people. And Adrien Agreste was witness of it.


The voices began to become audible in the first moment that he began to open the door of his vehicle, causing his eyes to go to the school before the attentive look and patience of his driver.

Of course, as in every school the voices literally ran. However, it was never so noticeable, and that caught the attention of Adrien Agreste.

"What's going on?" The model silently questioned, clinging to his backpack and opening the passenger door.

In front of him, several students arrived, ignorant of his presence. That didn't matter to him, he had called enough attention during his first days and it was the last thing he needed; and he enjoyed that now he was a point, another student in Françoise Dupont.

In other circumstances, he would have ignored them in their entirety, quietly descending from the vehicle to later stop feeling it behind him. But they never came too early, or too happy to be on a Monday.

Raising an eyebrow and puckering his lip puzzled, he finally came down closing the door behind him. It didn't take long until Gorilla restarted the movement of the car, judging by the strong breeze that he felt moved his jacket and several of his hair.

His gaze focused on the entrance to the school as he climbed the stairs. Several of his classmates were already present, and the circles of friends were already beginning to form, of course all showed limpid smiles that only increased the confusion of the blonde. Although he would like to go to school—regardless of the poor performance he was beginning to face with the akumas in his scholar time, it was rare for him to see his friends except Max and Sabrina share the same enthusiasm.

He finally entered, the conversations and the overflowing joy of the student body being his warm welcome, an act that of course he ignored; nor did he expect to be received with a red carpet.

And now that he thought about it, what could he complain about? It was a school after all, the approximate 75% of the students used the time to talk with their friends!

Scanning the environment, he located his best friend on the stairs that led to the classrooms. He seemed to have a funny conversation with Alya, seeing her laugh momentarily, to which he smiled to himself.

He seemed to have quality time with his girlfriend, and the last thing he wanted to do was interrupt his time with her by taking the role of bad third. Of course, he was interested not to see Marinette anywhere, at least until he saw her in one of the benches talking to Nathaniel and Marc.

The umpteenth situation that caught her attention was seeing her, Sabrina, completely alone, writing on her cellphone.

Occasionally she used her cellphone, either inside or outside the classroom, because she decided to take advantage of her time to talk to Chloé, who—now that he was analyzing the school again, wasn't present either because every day that he arrived at school, she was already there to receive him with a big hug and his face being filled with kisses.

The day started really strange, Adrien thought, but he knew that it wouldn't hurt to talk to Sabrina. After all, she wasn't so abrupt at the moment of expressing herself, unlike the blonde.

To which he smiled sideways and approached slowly to her, paying little attention to the looks he might receive, they didn't have to do it to tell the truth.

However, when he approached the tangerine-haired girl, he accidentally listened to several of the conversations. It wasn't his style, but they were noisy.

And apparently, they were all about the same subject, what bothered him.

Chloé Bourgeois.

Chloé

Chloe.

Before the constant mention of the blonde's name, Adrien could not help but be anguished.

It expanded like a virus, and it must be serious when he see the smiles on the faces of his classmates and friends. He could not deny that it hurt to see such reactions, seeming hypocritical to a certain extent, but he knew that it was the consequence of seeing that Chloé wasn't exactly the nicest person in Paris even now that she was Queen Bee.

Finally, it did not take long until he stopped in front of Sabrina.

"Are you okay?"

It was tremulous, almost silent, like a fearful whisper. It could be considered a miracle to perceive his presence, but she did.

Probably his shadow gave him away.

Although the same didn't give away the sad look, worried about the opposite. Her eyes had become a pair of stars before the bright ones she wore.

He could say that his presence wasn't expected. And he didn't blame her; the few people he turned to were Nino, Alya, and Marinette, who were currently busy, and he didn't know if she had noticed it.

"Are you okay?" He repeated, this time in a more audible tone, warm and gentle, to show sincere concern for her.

In response, the redhead quickly denied closing her eyes roughly, shedding a small tear mumbling something inaudible that Adrien could barely notice, but still caused a strong chill.

"...oe..."

She couldn't say what he thought she could say, right?

"I'm sorry Sabrina, but... could you repeat it? I did not hear you very well" and he wanted to make sure. His voice came out brittle, more trembling than before. Little did he care if she had perceived it or not, he wanted to deny her theory!

And she, preferring to respond with actions on words, bit her lip spilling more saline liquid as cascades.

The blonde didn't wait to see her stand up brusquely from the bench to fall in his arms. Instinctively, he patted her lightly on the back and stroked her hair with a slight grimace of discomfort. She wasn't as insistent with her affection as Chloé, but still he wasn't used to it by the friend of the aforementioned friend.

"Stay calm, breathe," he whispered into her shoulder, slowly matching the redhead's touch as he breathed heavily, her shoulders convulsing sharply.

For a moment he feared the worst, but on the other side she used to exaggerate the situation and dramatize, so he knew she shouldn't rush to conclusions. Still, he feared that something bad had happened to her in his absence.

After all, cruel or not, arrogant or not, megalomaniac or not, she was still her friend. Her childhood friend, to add more fuel to the fire.

He sighed partially relieved when he felt the muscles of her body relax.

"Better?" He say, his tone warm and calm to try to hide his nervousness. He felt a slight movement in his shoulder that assured him that yes, listening also to her sobs, drowned. "Well, now do you think you can talk and tell me what's wrong?"

Breaking the contact slightly to put a hand on her shoulder, he fumbled in his backpack to get a handkerchief that extended to the opposite, who accepted it without question and with an almost silent shriek as a thank you.

"It's Chloé," she stammered after blowing her nose with the handkerchief stretched by the model. In another situation she would have been too excited to interact with him, but in her emotional state she was unable to do so. "She cannot come for a few days..."

Despite the simplicity of the news, Adrien felt that the rubble of the Eiffel Tower could fall on him at any time, the bustle of the school becoming eco-distant, Chloé would be absent a few days? Sure, it meant she could go back; but she never missed classes, the only time she would stop attending was when she had announced her trip to New York with her mother.

He was afraid that this situation would be repeated. His life would not be normal if Chloé's excessive affection weren't in it.

After all, she was the only one who proved him ignorant of his status, right?

"What... what happened to her?" He felt a lump in his throat, preventing him from speaking naturally.

"She... got sick" almost instantaneously, a sigh of relief caught in his throat, grateful that it wasn't so serious; although of course, a disease was a disease no matter how severe it was. "Her temperature increased strongly, and she also had laryngitis. At least, that's what the doctor told her or what she's trying to tell me."

As a test, he approached the cellphone to see the messages. They were badly written, but they were legible.

She smiled warmly at him, and gently ran her fingertips down her cheeks to remove the cold tears formed there in the form of thin threads. Her crying seemed to have slowed, but she still looked sad in her features.

He knew that she was very dependent on Chloé, it was too remarkable and he had already accepted, so he couldn't help thinking how difficult it would be for Sabrina to spend the next few days without her, to which he left both hands on her shoulders in a strong support signal.

He knew how much she would need it, being the few who tolerated Chloé's arrogance.

"Stay calm, she'll be fine." She smiled at him, still feeling the lump in her throat. Why did it hurt as much as the redhead? "She's stronger than she seems. Believe me, I know."

Involuntarily, the memories of his childhood appeared in his mind. She smiled happily at him, as she proudly showed him his stuffed bear, Mr. Cuddly, after her mother's departure from her life.

Yes, she was stronger than she appeared.

But he would have to pay her a visit that afternoon to be sure. He just had to make sure that it didn't have him busy.

The school day was horribly slow for his taste, although notoriously more moved by the absence of the mayor's daughter, an act before which frown with annoyance and being the reason why he had decided to spend accompanied by Sabrina.

She was nicer than she looked.

However, when the final bell rang, he left quickly and with a smile on his face where Gorilla was already waiting for him. Hurry, he checked his agenda.

He wouldn't have a photo session until later, and the smile on his face remained as he literally ran to the vehicle at the strange looks of Nino, Alya and Marinette.

But it didn't matter. Nothing mattered now! He had discovered who they really were, and he disliked it completely.

He told him to take him to the hotel while he quickly took out his cellphone and call his father's contact.

He thought momentarily of calling him, but also thinking of how busy he might be, he finally decided to write a message indicating that he would arrive later in the face of an emergency presented abruptly.

The time it took to get to the hotel felt eternal, the seconds were tortuous.

But deep down, he knew that he wanted to see her, to make sure that she really was well. He knew it when he arrived at the luxurious place, a warm feeling permeated his chest.

Of course, they had recognized him and allowed him instantly access to the blonde's suite. A warmth received him.

He was surprised, he had never felt the room so little cool, but he had to assume it before the condition of the owner of it. And he assure it when he saw her in her bed, huddled under the covers.

The stage left him speechless. From the discussion with her mother after the proposal she made to Marinette, he had never seen her so fragile and vulnerable.

It hurt.

"Chloé?" He whispered, afraid he would find her sleeping and interrupting it; but apparently he didn't have to worry about it, she had sensed the scent of his colony.

"Adriboo!"

Her cheeks were red and her eyes were half-closed and watery, probably because of the sudden rise in temperature; and her voice sounded choked and hoarse.

"Don't try!" He exclaimed quickly as he approached to lie her down again, being greeted by one of her classic and warm hugs, causing a sly smile on his lips.

Apparently, she was still Chloé Bourgeois herself, and he liked her despite the megalomania that constantly showed the world.

"Did you come! I didn't expect you to come!" He felt her voice brittle, and he could not blame her. With the reaction that their classmates had shown, it would not surprise him if she thought the same about him after the estrangement he had taken.

"Of course. Did you really think I wouldn't? You're one of my friends, Chloé," he intimately stroked her back, feeling warm thanks to the fact that she had been lying down most of the day.

He felt her stir slightly, seemingly hesitant.

"Really, Chloé. You could be arrogant and everything else, but I've been thinking and... it's what makes you be you. You are special in your own way, even if it is not for something good."

He heard her laugh lightly and, for the second time that day, he felt her shoulder wet, to which he held her close, smiling warmly at her affection.

Suddenly he began to feel less upset, regardless of whether she was sick or not.

However, he acknowledged that being this way she allowed that mask of arrogance to fall from her face, showing him a more sensitive facet of herself.

Suddenly, he remembered why he had allowed that friendship to continue to grow over the years until it became that affection that she showed him day after day aggressively.

And as long as she stayed that way, it did not bother him that she was still her friend.

Her childhood friend, the one that had been forged when both of them were in need of affection.

And who knows, if they dared, it could become something else.


End file.
